Snow-removing machine



E. E. HICKS.

SNOW REMOVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, I920.

1,408,471, Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

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- mamas 1:. areas, or rmmnnrm rmmsynvmm snow-nmovme uacnnm To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELBERT E. RICKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful mprovements in Snow-Removing Machines; of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to snow removing machines and it has more particular reference to that type or form of machine which is provided with heating means whereby the snow can be rapidly melted and allowed to run to waste, and it has for its main object to provide a machine of the kind referred to whereby the snow can be rapidly reduced to a liquid condition and permitted to flow to the gulleys or sewers whilst the operation of reduction is taking place.

Another object of this invention is to provide a snow removing machine which ejects live steam on to the snow whereby a much more rapid dimolution thereof takes place and the work of cleaning it away is greatly expedited.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a snow removing machine which can be promptly adjusted to accommodate streets or highways of different widths and which furthermore can be conveniently adapted for service as a selfpropelled or otherwise driven machine.

Still further this invention aims to provide a simple and very effective snow removing machine which can be constructed and maintained at small comparative cost.

With the foregoing and other objectsin view as will later on more fully appear, my invention comprehends a transportable vehicle which is provided with foldable or colla sible side and end snow reducers or disso ving means for supplying live steam to said reducers and ejecting same onto the snow to be melted and means for raising the reducers independently or simultaneously into folded or collapsed position.

In the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had. to the accompanying sheet of explanatory drawings constituting a part of this speclfication, and in which like characters of reference designate the same or similar parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of one convenient form of my improved snow remover and as adapted for attachment as a trailer to a self propelled vehicle.

Specification of LettersIatent.

Application filed May 15,

Patented Mar. 7, 1922. 1920. Serial No- 881,819.

fragmentary deguiding members for the I propelled vehicle 13a fragmentary portion only whereof is indicated as it forms no part of my invention. Appropriately seated on the platform or truck body 10 is a vert1cal or other steam generator 14 provided with flexible or other pipe connections 15 under the control of valves 16 for conveying l1ve steam to the side and end snow reducers a, a and a res ectively as hereafter more fully explain Each of the reducers or snow melting devlces a, a and a includes rectangular or appropriate cross section ends or headers 17, 17, connected together radiator fashion by parallel pipes 18, the undersides whereof are perforated with holes 19 for the emlssion ofsteam downwardly, and at'each end of said reducers there is provided an outwardly and upwardly inclined shoe or scoop member 20. Freely rotatable wheels 21 are mounted on each header end so that the reducers can be traveled over the surface of the snow to be melted.

Attached to the underside of the aforesaid platform or truck body 10, are spaced stirrups or yokes 22, through which pass linlm 23 supporting anti-friction rollers 24 adapted to traverse the opposed and parallel vertical faces of said stirrups or yokes 22 and these links have pivoted at their outer ends by pivot pins 25 downwardly curved members 26, the lower ends whereof are hingedly connected by pintles 27 between spaced upstanding lugs 28 on the headers 17. It is to be particularly noted that a curved member 26 is connected to each header 17 of the side reducers a, a and that two such members 26 are similarly connected to the inner header 17 of the end reducer a Approprlately connected to the outer pipe 18 of each side reducers a, a and to the...

the drums 31 of an appropriate winding engine or Windlass 32, each said drum 31 being skilled in the art to which this invention appertains.

Now it will be readily seen that by winding up all, or any one of the chains or cables 29, all or the individual reducers a, a of, may be raised from a substantially horizontal to an approxlmately vertical or inwardly inclined position relative to the platform or truck body 10, said reducer or reducers swinging on the pintles 27 as pivots. Still further it is to be noted that the aforesaid links 23 and curved members 26, are formed with abutments 33 to constitute what may be termed a limiting hinge connection so that when said arts 23, 26, are in the position shown in Figure 3, any binding tendency of the rollers 24 is offset or prevented.

In some instances it may be preferable to make provision for raising the inner parts of the reducers a, a a so that said headers may be downwardly inclined shovel fashion or so disposed to dig into a snow bank or drift andto this end I provide an auxiliary winding engine 34 having drums 35 over which pass cables or chains 36 connecting with the inner pipes 18 of the side reducers a, a and the inner header 17' of the end reducer a Thus it will be readily seen that by operating one or other or all of the drums 35, the connected reducer or reducers a, a and a can be raised sufficiently to incline said reducer or. re-

ducers as indicated by the dot and dashlines at the right hand of Figure 2, or in other words have the Outer end or side downwardly inclined into the snow bank or drift and then by allowing the inner end to gravitate downwards the reducer or reducers will be forced beneath said bank or drift which results in the rapid conversion of the superincumbent snow into water by direct contact with the heated surfaces of the pipes 18.

Obviously the machine may be employed for removin ice coatings from the surfaces of streets, sidewalks, and highwa s just as effectively as has been described or reducin sno rom the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings the numerous merits and advanta es of my invention will be self-evident, whilst its adaptation for attachment to a work car for street railways or for use on railroads as a snow plough; or its transportation by animal or other power will be readily understood without further detailed description. Whilst I have described and shown one convenient embodiment of my invention it will be clearly seen that many changes in effected without departin arrangement of the several parts could be from the spirit and scope thereof, and it is hereby intended to include all such changes and reasonable modifications as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine of the type described the combination of a transportable vehicular body, hollow frames hingedly suspended from the body by vertically slidable hinge members adapted to hold said frames in substantially horizontal planes, means for swinging the hollow frames into substantially vertical position, supplementary means for raising said hollow frames into downwardly inclined position relative to the transportable vehicular bod and means for generating and supplying ive steam to the hollow frames for emission downwardly onto the surface over which the machine is traveled.

2. In a machine of the type described the combination of a transportable vehicular body, hollow frames hingedly suspended from the body by vertically slidable hin e members adapted to hold said frames in su stantially horizontal planes, means for swinging the hollow frames into substantially vertical position, supplementary means for raising said hollow frames into downwardly inclined position relative to the transportable vehicular body, means for generating and supplying live steam to the hollow frames for emission downwardly onto the surface over which the machine is traveled, and means carried by the hollow frames for deflectin part of the material on to the upper sur aces thereof for reduction by heat radiation.

3. A snow removing and reducing machine comprising in combination, a transportable vehicular body, hollow frames ingedly suspended from the body by vertically slidable hinge members adapted to hold said frames in substantially horizontal planes, means for swinging the hollow frames into substantially vertical position, supplementary means for raisin said hollow frames into downwardly inc ined position relative to the transportable vehicular body, means for generating and supplying live steam to the hollow frames for emission downwardly onto the surface over which the machine is traveled, and means carried by the hollow frames for deflecting part of the material on to the upper surfaces thereof for reduction by heat radiation.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ELBERT E. RICKS. 

